Carper, Coons fight for Sea Grant funding

Delaware leaders are demanding the Trump administration back off plans to cut funding for National Sea Grant college programs throughout the country.

U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons recently joined 26 other senators to call for Sea Grant to be funded at its current level of $63 million in the face of the current administration's proposed budget to slash funding for the program.

“As senators from some of the 33 states with Sea Grant programs, we see firsthand how this federal investment is leveraged locally to bring immense returns to coastal communities, fishermen, universities, and students,” the senators wrote in a letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. “Any cuts to this funding would have a devastating impact and we strongly urge you to reject any proposals to reduce this program.”

President Donald Trump's America First Budget Blueprint proposes complete elimination of funding for the National Sea Grant College Program as part of more than $250 million in cuts to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grants and programs.

Sea Grant programs, including the one housed at the University of Delaware, leverage state and federal funding to study, research and support coastal communities. In Delaware, the Sea Grant program has worked with towns such as Laurel, Lewes and Delaware City on revitalization and hazard mitigation projects worth more than $750,000; improved water quality data used by state officials since 1990; and partnered with Beebe Healthcare on a study to research and track surf-zone injuries.

Delaware Sea Grant supports nearly 80 student researchers, and has studied the state's blossoming Inland Bays aquaculture program, flood risks, coastal tourism and myriad other projects specific to coastal areas.

Delaware's 40-year-old program is one of 33 university-based programs found in coastal states, Puerto Rico, Lake Champlain and Guam.

Nationally, the program has spurred $575 million in economic development, supported more than 20,000 jobs and students, and restored more than 125,000 acres of coastal ecosystems.

Carper and Coons joined senators from California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin in urging the administration to continue funding Sea Grant programs.

“Sea Grant Programs are vital to local businesses, a source of good jobs, and an important part of preserving our coastal communities for generations to come,” the letter reads. “We believe zeroing out or reducing funding for the Sea Grant program would be a mistake and urge you to provide robust support for the program in the Fiscal Year 2018 bill.”

To read the senators' full letter, go to http://tinyurl.com/ybpqfuos.